How far can a patch of a particular kind of phytoplankton drift, and how long does it persist, before ocean currents mix it away? With collaborators at MIT, the University of Washington, and Old Dominion University, I helped answer this for dozens of simulated phytoplankton types, from tiny picoplankton to larger diatoms.
We used a detailed global ocean model to track how quickly, and over what distances, different types of phytoplankton lose their distinct identity — essentially, how long a bloom or population anomaly persists before fading, and how far its influence spreads to nearby waters. The results help explain why some patterns in real ocean plankton communities are local and short-lived, while others are large and long-lasting, which matters for understanding how much local versus regional dynamics shape marine ecosystems.
Angela M. Kuhn 